Viva La Vida
by PastelPink
Summary: They were young, suburban-looking kids. With slashed pants and shirts. Tired eyes. Solemn aspects. No hope. Shane rubbed the side of his face with annoyance and slammed the car's door shut. Eric, Donna, and Jackie had now a new era to survive.
1. Three Suburban Kids

_Three Suburban Kids_

Among the surprise, the tiredness, and the uncertainty, Shane was the first to react.

He touched the contours of his gun with the tips of his fingers, stroking it slowly, before taking a deep breath and propping the door open with one push. He jumped out of the car, creating a cloud of dust around him as he landed, and rested his body against the side of the vehicle, carefully glancing at the figures standing a few feet away from him. He stood there for a while, his head tilting backwards a little like he was trying to measure their worth. They were a strange bunch. The blond girl was the only one with enough guts to look back at him. She was tall and sturdy, and the skin of her chest and cheeks was sunburned. She was accompanied by two more people. A boy, who looked like a sack of bones and was covered in mud head-to-toe, and another tiny-ass girl who was messing around with her hair, making knots at the end of her ponytail. They were young, suburban-looking kids. Maybe in their early twenties. With slashed pants and shirts. Tired eyes. Solemn aspects. No hope.

His eyes moved quickly. Their hands: empty. Weapons: none, unless concealed. Which he knew was impossible; he could recognize amateurs, and those three gave him the impression of being no more than three lost puppies. He kept looking. No visible bite marks. No signs of sickness. Nothing.

He rubbed the side of his face with annoyance.

He slammed the car door shut.

"Looking good there, huh?" he yelled cynically, finally deciding to take relaxed, overly-confident steps towards them, the palm of his hand resting comfortably on top of his holster. They didn't move. Shane didn't care. "What's in the car?"

What he was referring by "car" was an old, seventies' Vista Cruiser that stood next to the kids. The vehicle looked like it had been used for at least six generations; it had a rusty chassis, faded color, a missing window. Its doors were wide open, and the trunk was surrounded by hanging pieces of fabric, probably to keep mosquitoes away. Like its owner, whoever that was, it was a miracle it had made it for so long.

He saw them reluctant to answer, so he kept pushing. "Any guns? Food?"

He paused, eyebrows high. A drop of sweat slid down his face.

"Anything?" he demanded. Even the blonde decided to look away. "No?"

The boy plastered with mud shuffled in his place a little before glancing up at the cop, wide-eyed. He shook his head side to side in a really fast manner, and went back to staring at his shoes. Shane smiled incredulous.

"Well, ain't that great." He chuckled, still with a sincerely surprised look, and put his left hand in front of his eyebrows, trying to cover his eyes from the intense midday sun "Now tell me this, will ya? How in hell did you three manage to–?

"Hey. Shane,"

Shane glanced back at the sound of Rick's voice. He saw his partner walking to his side from the car, police hat high on his head, firm expression on face. "What's going on here?"

Shane turned his back at the soon-to-be walker diner.

"These three," He pointed at them with his head "No weapons, no food, probably no gas also. Don't seem to be bitten, but there's no telling." He faced the teenagers again "Any of you bitten?"

The blond girl hurried to answer: "No! Oh, no. No. We are not."

She stressed the No's so much that even she became too aware of them. She hushed immediately after, her face somewhat showing regret for her frantic, almost desperate, answer. She gave the boy a sideways look, concern in her eyes, and bit her lip.

"Huh... Well, glad to know one of ya _does_ have a voice," Shane smiled and rotated back to face Rick, his face instantly becoming more ominous. "You see that? Three fucking kids... Things just keep gettin' better, don't they?"

Rick stared at them, the sun illuminating the ends of his eyelashes, as he placed his hands on his hips.

"What you thinking?"

"What I'm thinking..." Shane looked back at the three dirty silhouettes and cleaned away the sweat from his hairline with his forearm before continuing. "I'm thinking that, the second the rest of the group sees them, they are gonna open their arms to them, give them our food, give them our weapons, and offer them gas for that relic there. They are gonna become another burden; another mouth to feed. One that we _do not _need," he reminded his friend in a low, persuasive tone. But Rick's eyes were still fixed on them, contemplating the situation. Shane kept going.

"Rick, listen here, bud: We _can't_ do this. We don't have a place to stay. There's no camp anymore, no CDC... Let's just get some gas from this car here before everyone starts to worry and get back, okay?"

Rick took a gulp of his own saliva. He shifted his legs, glanced around the dirt road, around the tall trees that offered no shadows at that time of the day, and around the old tire tracks that were stamped on the route's dry mud, and then looked straight into Shane's dark eyes, troubled.

"They are too young..."

"Probably in their twenties," Shane corrected, trying to ease his friend's worries and get them away from that place as soon as possible. They could find gas somewhere else.

"If Lori sees them–"

"She doesn't need to see them. Look... I'll give them a few cans of whatever's left in the trunk and we leave them alone, does that sound good to you?" He placed a comforting, yet impatient, hand on Rick's shoulder "They made it this far. They'll be just fine."

He definitely didn't believe his own lie, but it would have to do. He patted Rick's shoulder and showed him a light smile. Next, before his friend's mind started thinking again, he trotted all the way back to the car, opened the trunk's door swiftly, took two warm cans of green pea soup and an empty gas container, and went back to Rick's side. He handed him the red container.

"Here you go," He showed his partner the soup cans "And these are for them."

Rick nodded, understandingly, and headed with an agile pace to the white van parked in the middle of that desolated suburbia's road. Shane watched him leave before exhaling an exhausted puff of air. He faced the kids again just to find them staring at him with unsure looks. He locked a "good cop" smile on his lips and got closer to them.

It really was too bad, he thought as he wandered at a safe but proximate distance from them. The girls were good-looking women, and the boy had a geeky aura to him. Those types of characteristics almost didn't exist anymore. Had they been under other circumstances, they might have gotten luckier. He blinked a few times to ease the pain the sun was causing in his eyes, and that was enough to get rid of the thought.

Four steps later, he was standing in front of them with confidence, the blazing sunbeams bathing him. He shook the cans in his hands to catch the three's full attention – a strategy that worked perfectly,– and rose his eyebrows.

"Who of y'all will tell me your names?"

The blonde (_of course_,) was quick to open her mouth, but the shaky boy spoke first. His voice was stronger than Shane had expected.

"I'm Eric. These are Donna and Jackie." He slightly pointed at the girls with his long index finger "We are from Wisconsin. Point Place. We...We are just... Look, man, is there–? What's goin–?"

"Hey. Eric? I'm the one asking the questions here, okay?" Shane used an authoritarian but calm tone. Unlike he expected, Eric shut his mouth at once, making no attempts of continuing or fighting back. Noticing that he was not a menace, Shane glanced down at the lukewarm green-colored cans in his hands, and cleaned his own sweat from his face again. It was too fucking hot. Then, he leaned down and placed the cans on the lane, just in front of his boots "Well, Eric, Donna, Jackie. Let me tell ya, you are in luck. Two cans of food. Great deal for a starving stomach, huh?"

None of them answered.

A bird started singing. A Mockingbird.

"Now, when I leave, you are free to have them. But I don't wanna see you getting crafty here, alright? If I do, I will shoot you down. All of you." He tapped his gun with the palm of his hand. He smiled again just as he heard Rick calling him from the car and gestured them a quick goodbye. "The best to you, fellas."

Shane turned around and started walking to the car. Rick was sitting behind the wheel already, the car offering a cooling place and a shadow. Finally. He couldn't wait to get into the conditioned vehicle and away from that boiler, check on the group, and get the gas delivered. They had been away for too long, and it was too dangerous. Anything could had happened already. They couldn't afford staying in Atlanta any longer.

"Wait. You are _leaving_ us?"

It was a high-pitched, demanding voice yelling from behind his back. Shane turned his head around, intrigued, to find the short girl looking at him with eyes wide open and a look that did not conceal her indignation. "Oh, no. You can't just _leave_ us."

Her tone resembled that of a threat. And she looked like she intended so, specially with her arms positioned strongly on her waist and her eyes looking at him so intensely that it seemed like they were trying to poke holes into his brain. Before he could create a good comeback, the blond girl had side-slapped the short girl's arm.

"Jackie!" she grumbled.

"Ow! _Donna_! Watch it!" Jackie answered back, annoyed, with a kick to her friend's shins.

"Oww! That _hurt_!" Donna counterattacked by pulling her hair, causing Jackie to bite her forearm in order to free herself. Donna punched her side to retaliate. Jackie scratched her face. Donna stepped on her feet, and Jackie sank her fingers in between her ribs. Donna twisted her wrist. Jackie pushed her face away with an open palm. Soon, the two girls were wrestling on the ground, dry dirt floating up around them, little ferocious comments being exchanged, twitchy Eric not being brave enough to put himself in the line of fire. Unable to figure out what to do in such situation –Enjoy the cat-fight? Kill them all? Separate them?– Shane took his gun off its holster.

"Hey! HEY!" he started, his police training suddenly kicking in. He remembered that ending brawls had always been one of his favorite things to do. It was just too damn entertaining. "You two get away from each other _now_, you hear me?"

They didn't hear him, mainly because they were too preoccupied ripping the skin out of each others' bodies, so they kept fighting. Shane heard Rick's boots running to him from behind. He had jumped out of the car, alarmed. His gun was now pointed at the two girls as well, eyes watching them carefully.

"Hey!" Shane repeated, moving into the middle of combat and getting a firm hold of Donna's arm "Stop it! You stop this_ now_!"

But it was too late. Donna didn't discriminate with her punches, and Shane found this out the rough way; one elbow to the stomach, that's what he got. The blonde's blow was stronger that he had imagined, with weight behind it and everything. It was so good that, even with his healthy six pack, he felt it piercing through his organs and made him hunch forward defensively. The attack allowed Donna to liberate herself and jump down on Jackie again as if she was a dog infested with rabies. They were mad. Not at each other anymore, but they were still angry, and frustrated, and nervous, and they had each other to let out all the feelings that made them cry at night and that made them panic during the days. To Shane, it looked more like a release, like a type of sacred physical mantras, that, as long as it continued, was the only thing that really mattered. He had been there before. He knew the feeling too well. He had to stop it.

And words clearly weren't working.

It only took one shot to the sky to make their eyes go wide and their bodies stop contorting uncontrollably on top of the other. The few thirsty birds that were in the trees flew away frightened, and soon the only one making a sound was him, letting his loaded gun face the ground. He walked to Donna and grabbed her shoulder.

She had ceased battling instantly at the sight of the black weapon, which, as she noticed, was too close to her head for comfort. The tiny girl was, however, still acting viciously, and she used the opportunity to bite Donna's arm once again. Rick took care of that by grabbing Jackie's torso and forcefully pulling her away. She squealed and struggled, but gave up once Rick lifted her and sat her down on the road like she was a small child getting grounded. Both of them seemed exhausted, their breathing shaky and accelerated, their pupils showing a killing intent, their hair twisted in the most complicated clusters.

They looked like shit.

Shane suppressed a chuckle at the sight.

"What in the world do you two think you are doing?" It was Rick who reacted first, his voice completely serious. "For God's sake... Was it the food, Shane? What happened here?"

"You were going to leave us!" Jackie complained in defense, still out of breath. "You can't leave. We'll die!"

"Jackie, I don't think– " Eric, who had maintained himself away from the fight, finally spoke. Jackie stopped him in mid-sentence with one fierce expression.

"Look," Jackie pulled a piece of hair out of her mouth and removed some dust from her yellow dress "All I'm saying is that we want to _live_. But we can't do that by ourselves anymore. We are hungry, and those things...They just– Ugh! We need help. And you know that!"

She had the biggest damned blue eyes, the kind that made sure you were looking back and paying attention to her. And they worked too well. Rick lowered his gun.

_Shit_.

"Besides, you are cops!" Jackie continued, the sweat of her forehead making her black long hair stick to the sides of her face. "It's your duty to help us!"

"Jackie, shut up, will you?" Donna spat on the ground and glared at her. Underneath Shane's hand, he could feel her heart pounding throughout her body. "They don't want us!"

"Oh, but they will, Donna. They will."

"No. No they won't. They will get sick of your squeaky voice in two minutes and shoot us all to death. Do you want that? 'Cause they will do it."

It sounded like a plausible situation, Shane thought. He loosened the grip on her shoulder.

"Eric, tell her!" she pleaded, now facing the boy. "Rule number one, remember? We are gonna be just fine. And you, let me go!"

She pulled herself out of Shane's grasp and ran crookedly to Jackie, leaning next to the siting figure of her friend while checking on her condition. Jackie nodded briefly, signaling she was okay, but kept looking at Rick, her eyes digging into his.

Donna grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her up. They were both trembling when standing, their bodies carrying a mixture of adrenaline and fear, but they still managed to seem collected. Donna's face was red like fire.

"We are good now, so if you are done here, just leave us alone, will you?.. But thanks for the food." She said rapidly after, glancing down at the marks on her body and frowning. Shane didn't need to hear the instruction twice.

"You heard them. Let's go" he told Rick, hurrying his pace to the car. He was content: Even they wanted to be left alone. There really was nothing there to care for anymore. It was for that reason that he became appalled when he saw his partner doing nothing but stand on the road, his back slightly hunched. "Rick, let's go."

Rick turned to see Shane, his mouth already open to begin his 'please reconsider' spiel, but his eyes stopped somewhere in the distance, farther away than they should.

Whatever he was looking at, Eric had seen it too.

"Shit. Neimoidians!" He hurried to the girls side, grabbing Donna's hand and dragging her down the road. Rick and Shane's guns redirected themselves to the group of walkers in the distance almost immediately. There were about thirteen of them. Too many to shoot if they wanted to make the best use of their remaining ammo. Far enough to lose them if they started driving away in that same second. They could hear them groaning already, a path of dripping blood trailing behind them. Their stench, in that horrid, sticky weather, was too easy to smell. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Eric, the Cruiser broke!" Donna reminded him before giving the cops an unconscious, desperate look. Jackie lifted her arms high in the air, probably in her best imitation of an angry Italian grandmother.

"See? This is what I've been talking about!" She pointed an accusing finger at the walkers with irritation "Those freaks! They just keep coming!"

The walkers were fast. Shane shot one of them just in between its gray rotting eyes, the sound of the blast making the two girls jump back. Eric kept pushing Donna past the motionless cars.

"Jackie, move away!" He screamed.

"Do it! Now!" Rick concurred. Jackie shook her head rapidly and did as ordered. They heard another gunshot; the Sheriff had taken a fat, blood-puking chef down.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Too close. They were too close. Shane started to run backwards, Rick following him closely. "Get in the car!"

"We need to take them!" Rick shouted. A blast echoed and a blood-covered nurse fell on the dirt, red liquid jumping from her body in every direction. Shane's sweat was falling on his eyes, blinding him. "WE NEED TO TAKE THEM!"

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

The food. The gas. The group. Everything could get ruined. More people meant more danger. More chances of failure. More mistakes. And Lori. And Carl... But those fucking walkers kept running to them, their eyelid-less faces and corrupted bodies gravitating to where they were standing. The food, the gas, the safety, the group, the cars, the weapons, the water. All at risk.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

"Alright! Alright!"

He looked back. The terrified teenagers had heard. They nodded and jumped into the silver car in a frenzy, hands moving quickly and carelessly, doors slamming. He followed them inside, gun still pointed, the cold air of the vehicle receiving him. He turned the car's key as Rick shot another walker. The motor roared under his seat. Shane closed his door just after shooting a fucking fast hipster chick that was missing the side of her face. Rick dived into the passenger seat. "Go! Go! Go!"

Shane pounded the speed pedal as he saw a walker kick one of the green soup cans, which rotated to the side of the road and disappeared into the tall grasses under the trees. _Fucking walkers_. The crumbly dirt underneath them gave the automobile no traction. _Fucking car_. They were closer.

"GO!" Donna shrieked, hitting the back of his seat. Shane changed the transmission in one agitated motion. The motor moaned painfully and the car was propelled forward, pushing them all against the seats' cushions with a velocity that blew their breath out of their lungs. Jackie screamed. Rick's face looked distorted by the force. Shane squeezed the driving wheel harder, finally taking control. They managed to leave the place as the walkers placed their pruny-looking hands on the back windshield, burgundy finger stains now planted on the car's clear window, a cloud of fine dust hiding them in the distance.

OOOOO

"Oh, thank God! We heard the gun shots, and we thought that... Oh. Come here."

The skinny woman planted a kiss on Rick's lips and hugged him, pressing her face against his shoulder like she was unsure of how long he would stay there before suddenly transforming into air, or dust, or something. Shane was received with a friendly tap on the back by an old man with a flowery Hawaiian shirt. In the distance, sitting by a white RV, there was a little girl playing with a doll, a young Asian guy continuously turning his hat inside-out, and a lady with short hair looking over a boy who was now running in their direction with a smile in his face, his short brown hair flapping over his forehead, his arms extended in front of him ready to meet Rick's waist.

Jackie saw them all from inside the car, her eyes wide open, and her curiosity and amazement so attracted to the image that the tip of her nose was smashed against the car's window. Behind her, Donna and Eric were squished together, trying to look pass her hair and into the astonishing scene. Eric gave a high-pitched gasp when he was finally able to move Jackie's ponytail away and reveal the sight. Donna parted her lips in a daze, equally taken aback: "Oh, my God."

She slapped Jackie's head to the side and made herself some space next to her. Luckily, Jackie was too mesmerized to care.

"There are _kids_... You see that?" she turned to Eric, and then Jackie, and then Eric again before kissing the side of his mud-covered face and going back to the scene happening in front of her. The group was reunited now, the Asian, the lady, the skinny woman, the old man, the two small kids, Rick, and Shane. They were smiling, and touching each other, and interchanging water, and information, and laughs. They seemed like some kind of team. Like a group of people who understood whatever there was to understand. For a second there, she tried really hard to stop the one tear that was forming in her right eye from falling. "_Kids_. And normal _people_. It's unbelievable."

Eric placed a supporting hand on her shoulder and she immediately leaned into his torso, feeling more comfortable than she had felt in months. In that cool car, with so many normal humans around her, and Eric's warmth surrounding her, she finally gave herself the chance to relax her body and drop her guard, eyes closed and a soft smile stretching her face in places she did not quite remember. She allowed herself to solely pay attention to the touch of her boyfriend's fingers while they stroke the side of her neck and then the tips of her hair. Of course, she also heard Jackie groaning with annoyance.

"Oh, please. Get a room." Jackie rolled her eyes, retaining a light smile. Donna responded with a mocking roll of eyes, and then laughed. Eric's attention was, once again, fixed on what was going outside.

"Um... Should we try to get out of here or something?" he started tentatively "I mean, they all seem _pretty_ unaware that they have three people trapped inside a car."

"Yeah, seriously. Donna, start pounding on the window."

"Jackie! No!"

"But it is bad manners to treat guests this way!"

"Oh! Wait!" Eric stopped the girls "They are looking over here."

It was true. All their faces were now looking at them, their expressions resembling that of Shane's when he first noticed them. It wasn't a very welcoming one. Eric gulped.

"...They don't look too thrilled?"

"Hush." Donna ordered. Rick's lips were moving as he walked towards them and the car. They stayed in complete silence, trying to hear anything that came out of his mouth, but it wasn't working. He was probably speaking really softly. Whatever was happening out there, the blank faces of the group did not bring hope to any of them. Rick's hand was now on the door's handle. There was a "pluck" sound, and a breeze of hot air stormed into the back seat.

"They are Eric, Donna, and Jackie." They heard Rick pronounce their names in a thick southern accent. Eric started to fidget when he saw all those eyes fixed on them. Donna stood still. Jackie smiled like she was part of a teeth-whitening commercial. Rick bent over the door to see them. His eyes looked small and firm beneath his hat, yet they became a bit warmer as he studied their contradictory reactions. "I know the car's cool, but you may want to meet everybody."

Donna exhaled again and closed her eyes. This time around, a clear tear rolled down her cheek.

They were safe.

* * *

Being a fan of both _The Walking Dead_ and _That 70's Show_, I had to give this a try! I really hope you liked this chapter, and please tell me what you thought of it and if there is anything that I should change to make it better :)

Thank you so much for reading!


	2. Taciturn Faces

_Taciturn Faces_

Whatever Rick had meant by "go meet everybody," had also clearly not been what the three Wisconsinites imagined.

The act of "meeting" had started as soon as they had gotten out of the car, and it consisted in a rushed calling of names for the blurry faces moving around them. Something about a dog, something with A, something like Len. No one could really tell. Following that, there was the quick explanation that they had to leave Atlanta right now, before the walkers found them, so shut up, go back in the car, no, not the back seat, can you fit in the trunk? There. Perfect. Then, in a second, they were back in front of the Vista Cruiser, Eric kissing it with his eyes full of tears, the dead walkers of a few minutes ago surrounded by buzzing flies, Shane and the Asian guy removing three pink suitcases, a long gray satchel, and a blue backpack from inside the old vehicle and into the white RV, so wait, ya sure that's everythin'? I said, is that everything? Yeah, yeah, that's fine, we are good; and they were off again, leaving the skyscrapers, the dirty streets, and empty buildings all behind them. Following the gray, infinite highway.

And that was all there was.

But at least they were alive, Jackie reminded herself as she sat in between Eric, Donna, and some luggage in the tiny rear compartment of Rick's yellow car.

Like everywhere in Atlanta, it was hot. And even though the car's side windows were completely open, letting a powerful breeze hit their faces and blow their hairs in every direction, the pungent smell of sweat and mud remained static in the air. To make it worse, the atmosphere inside the vehicle was painful, resembling a poorly-mixed concoction of fatigue, sadness, and unnecessary tension. But most of all, like Jackie was well aware of, it was _boring_. No. Boring was an euphemism. It was tedious and monotonous.

It had been a completely silent ride so far, with most of the sounds coming from the car's unsettled motor and the clashing of the wheels against the pavement. It was clear that all the individuals were too apathetic or anxious to talk. The woman with the horrible haircut, for example, was trying too hard to ignore the newcomers, evading their eyes like her life depended on it; like they were dangerous animals wanting to pray on her and the little girl next to her body, who she carefully guarded. The boy sitting in front of Eric, on the other hand, seemed to be in another dimension, his eyes untiringly following the yellow lines on the side of the road as if they were the most fascinating thing.

Jackie leaned backwards, resting her head against the dirty rear window. She had no clue of where they were going, who they were following, and, to start with, if anyone even had a plan. But the situation was too boring for her to concentrate in important things. Instead, she remained fixated on the horrible silence that surrounded her. It could be so easy to change it... But no. No one seemed physically able to put an old CD, or sing some field-trip song or something.

She sighed in confusion and exasperation, remade her ponytail since the wind seemed dedicated to mess it up, and found herself a kind of comfortable position between Donna's right shoulder, a pillow, and Eric's butt. Forget meeting people. Forget talking. A calm nap was definitely her best choice.

Her idea, however, quickly fell through.

"So..."

Her eyes jumped open in nanosecond when she heard a female voice pronounce those two letters and she shot up from her comfy place like it was 3 in the morning on Black Friday: excitedly. Everybody else aboard seemed to have had a similar reaction since a wave of wanting to shuffle a little suddenly appeared. The one who talked had been the woman in the passenger's seat, the skinny one. She was looking back at them with a dubious smile. "Shane told me you are from Wisconsin?"

The teenagers looked at each other. The rumbling of the motor continued.

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah..." started Eric, at first in a lost, and then in an overly casual, manner. He leaned forward to appear more engaged, but both girls could tell he was unsure of what to say next. "Point Place. Nice little town in the good old dairy state." He stopped, frowned, and then added: "Or was... At least before... you know..."

There was an uneasy pause.

Of course they knew.

"What are you kids doing in Atlanta then? So far away," asked the second woman, the one with the unfortunate haircut, also turning around to face them since she did not quite believe the statement. This time, Donna gave a low groan and closed her eyes like she was trying to remember a rehearsed answer.

"It was my idea... I was looking over my options for college. They offered me a good scholarship at Georgia Tech so I decided to check it out. By the time we got to the campus though, the dorms and the city were complete chaos. With the freaks all over the streets and people in total panic. We should have noticed before... I mean, so many were leaving, but..." She stopped, abandoning the thought. "And from then on... I don't really know. We did what we could."

The two women exchanged a saddened look.

They didn't dare to say more.

There was no asking about families or loved ones. No questions of their past. No words to trigger memories. What was the point, really? The answers couldn't be good.

And so the somber silence appeared again.

Jackie rolled her eyes and displayed her most miserable face. The talk had ended too soon.

She couldn't take this for much longer.

For that reason, she was relieved a few seconds later when she saw the first women change her expression to a happier one and open her mouth again. She definitely wasn't the only one sick of the quietness.

The first woman removed some of the hair the wind was so fervently blowing out of her face, and looked at the children, who had been silently siting in the backseat, with a mischievous smile.

"Also, a little bird told me _someone_ had a question for Eric. Is that right?"

Both kids turned to face her immediately, suddenly blushing.

"Mom!" the boy complained in embarrassment. Next, he turned to the little girl and looked at her like she had committed the worst kind of betrayal "You _told_ her?"

She looked down, her face pink.

"...Was an accident"

Rick laughed from the front of the car with enthusiasm.

"Well, ya know you can ask him now, Carl," he said playfully, diverting his gaze from the road and into the review mirror to check his son's embarrassed but cutely hilarious face. The boy looked out the window, as if that could stop everyone from staring at him.

"Uh...Am I missing something?" Eric questioned Donna in a whisper, all the way back in the trunk.

She shook her head, as baffled as he was.

"Not completely sure..."

Seeing that none of the kids were willing to reveal the question, and that no one else was putting enough pressure for them to disclose it, Jackie felt it was the right time to give them a rather impatient push.

"So, what is it?" she demanded loudly. The boy looked down.

"Aw, c'mon sweetie!" the first woman said with an encouraging smile "Eric is dying to hear it."

She gave the dorky teenager an imploring look, for what he added:

"...Yes? Uh, yes! Yes! Chad! I do!... want to know. Your question..." He made a confused pause "..Now? Please...?"

The boy gave a loud sigh and turned around, placing his elbows on the seats' back so that he was directly facing the older guy. He looked serious.

"It's Carl."

Eric smiled sheepishly. "Sorry,"

But even then, nothing was coming out the kid's mouth.

_Gee..._

"_So_?" Jackie sounded irritated. "The question?"

Donna gave her a look, but since she was as curious about the inquiry as her friend, she refrained from making a reproachful comment.

This time, Carl took a deep breath and changed his expression to an extremely determined one. For a second, the anticipation was such that it seemed palpable in the car's windy air.

Eric swallowed.

Carl separated his lips.

"Why are you covered in mud?"

Jackie rolled her eyes as the two mothers exploded in laughter from their seats. Carl's cheeks became even redder.

"Really?" Jackie collapsed on Donna's side, unimpressed "That's it?"

"It _is_ a very intriguing question," pointed out Rick, his face showing a few carefree wrinkles because of his smile.

Jackie's eyes turned to look at Eric. His proud smirk was big enough to make some of his face-mud crumble. She gave an annoyed sigh. She new she was about to hear the same explanation for about the fiftieth time.

"Well, you see, _Carl_," started Eric, making sure he got the name right, in his best erudite tone "being covered in mud has many positive aspects. It prevents sunburns, it stops mosquitoes from biting you, and it also helps you regulate your body temperature a little bit more because it blocks direct sunlight, thus keeping you cooler in this weather."

"You look silly," stated Sophia in response, and Jackie couldn't control an obnoxious laugh from escaping her. She liked that girl.

Eric grimaced.

"Hey! It is extremely useful," he defended himself "I think it even confuses Neimoidians because they can't really smell you correctly... Once, I got really close to one an–"

"_Neimoidians_?" interrupted Carl, his face contorted with a confused expression. Eric nodded.

"Yeah. Neimoidians. You know, those creepy-looking, extremely greedy creatures from Star Wa...UHHH!" The still present confusion of the two kids had been enough to stop Eric from talking, to make him take a horrified gasp of air, and to convince him of checking his heart with his hand in case he was having palpitations. "Don't tell me you... You..." He stopped himself, making a gesture with his hand so that they would give him a minute to analyze the tragic nature of the situation, and then tried excruciatingly hard to utter his next words: "...You've ne– never seen Star Wars?"

He ended the sentence completely chocked up.

Both kids stared at him with blank expressions.

"No." They answered in unison after a few seconds, and Eric felt like fainting. A new wave of laughter filled the car.

"What kind of parents are you people?" cried Eric, still in shock. "Depriving your kids of the best film ever made in the history of the galaxy!"

"Don't believe him, kids," commented Donna with a smile. "It's not _that _good."

Eric hunched his back, hurt by the statement. "If Luke was here to see this..."

"Yeah, well, he isn't," finished Jackie. If there was something that she didn't need, it was another pointless conversation about Star Wars. Eric gave her a fulminating look. They heard Rick laughing again.

"But that mud seems to be really convenient, doesn't it?" He looked at the woman next to him jokingly "Maybe we should make Carl try it. For the sunburns."

"No way!" Protested the boy. "Looks_ stupid_."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Eric, it does..."

"About time you told him,"

"What? You too, Donna?"

In between Jackie's and Donna's giggles, the second woman went back to Eric, intrigued.

"Why did you think of using mud of all things?"

"Oh, I used it a lot last year when I was in Africa. The locals kind of told me that with my skin I wou–"

"Africa?" The little girl took the same position as Carl in complete amazement, her doll still pressed tightly under her forearm. "_You_ went to Africa? With the lions? And rhinos? And tigers? "

"Uh...There are actually no tigers in Africa; but yes, I did go there" smiled Eric, enjoying the positive attention.

"Whoaa..." the two kids coincided, their eyes wide as plates. Donna rolled her eyes, but the grin on her face continued.

"Did you hear that, mom? Africa!" Carl shouted to the front. The first woman chuckled, and then sighed.

"It really is great. Probably got to see so much... The farthest we ever got from here was–" She chuckled again, but this time more to herself, like she had remembered something. She smiled. "...when we took our trip to the Grand Canyon with Carl."

The man next to her looked lost for a second. When the memory finally sank in, he gave out a soft, melancholic laugh.

"I don't remember that," intervened Carl, going back to his normal siting position and away from Eric. The little girl imitated him.

"No, you wouldn't. You were just a baby," the woman said, the rumbling noises of the motor making her voice hard to hear. "And besides we never made it past Fort Worth,"

"Nah, you got sick." continued Rick, and then laughed even harder "I never knew a baby could throw up so much,"

"Yuck."

"Yeah, yuck..." The fist woman smiled and placed her arm on top of the open window "But the doctor in Texas said you'd live. And we turned around, and drove home..."

There was a pause.

"...That sucks," Carl finally judged. The woman shook her head.

"No. It was a good trip." She patted Rick's leg.

"The best."

"Can we go see it?" the boy interfered again. "The Grand Canyon?"

"And Africa?" added the little girl, receiving a 'good idea' nod from Carl. The second woman chuckled.

"We'd like to..." he added, like he didn't know if the proposition had been convincing enough.

"Can we go?" insisted the girl.

"We'd never go without you and your mom," Rick replied quickly as the first woman twisted her arm back and stroked the girl's leg in reassurance.

"Can we go too?" pleaded Eric, for what he got a reproving look from Donna. He sighed, looking for pity. "For the sake of all that's good, Donna! It's the Grand Canyon!"

Rick smiled.

"We wouldn't leave you all either,"

"Again, you mean..." complained Jackie under her breath, softly enough so that she wouldn't be heard by her blond friend.

"That's a promise," the officer finished, and for a while, the silence materialized again inside the car.

OOOO

A strong arm shook her entire body, making her feel like she was caught in the middle of an earthquake. Yet, even with the intense tremble her extremities were feeling, Jackie's eyes opened with laziness.

"Ah...? Wha–" She yawned "...What's going on?"

Donna, whose face showed concern, placed her index finger in front of her lips, and shook her head.

"We stopped," she announced in a whisper.

Jackie removed the pillow from under her head and moved her body up, colliding with Eric on her way. She gave a low groan, pushed her fingertips on top of her eyelids in hopes of becoming more alert without ruining her make-up, and looked around her.

Through the front window, past the slow RV, she could see a graveyard. A car cemetery. A sight of car after car, and a semi in the middle, all completely abandoned, wrecked, and desolated. If it hadn't been for the rancid smell of the air flowing in from the outside, maybe the image wouldn't have felt so ominous. But that smell... Not a good sign.

She exchanged a worried look with Donna and, against all her instinctive reflexes, decided to abstain from saying anything.

They were barely moving now, their speed no more than 3 miles per hour.

They waited patiently until the RV started advancing once again, finding itself a path through that maze of vehicles. They followed it closely, paying careful attention to the empty cars around them. A blue car, a silver one, clothes scattered on the road. She couldn't help but to notice when a shiver ran through Eric's back. She followed his gaze only to find a gray face leaning out of the white car they were just passing, its eyes and mouth wide open, its vision covered by the tinted veil of death. And he wasn't the only one.

Jackie looked away from the car, terrified and disgusted.

"This is–" Donna uttered silently before her words got covered by a high-pitched, sudden explosion.

They looked up as a white cloud of vapor emerged from the vehicle in front of them, creating an iridescent glow when the sun's rays hit it.

The RV had ceased moving, stuck in between the side of the highway and a crappy beige car.

Rick grunted softly and turned off the car, finally silencing its hysteric motor. He opened the door and got out impatiently, the first woman following his actions. She ordered the kids and the unfortunate-haired woman to get out of the car with a quick sympathetic look, and opened the trunk door for them to step outside.

Jackie was the first one to jump out. And as soon as she did, she felt the sun and the heat slapping her skin like a bitchy cheerleader suffering an emotional breakdown, painfully and in the spur of the moment. She made an effort to stop herself from complaining about it, and followed the group closely until they were standing next to the Winnebago, were the rest of the non-freaks were discussing.

"I said it, didn't I say it?" the old man with the hat moved to the front of the white RV, inspecting it with a frown. "A thousand times: Dead in the water."

Shane walked to his side, rifle in hand.

"Problem, Dale?"

"Not if it's a small matter being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of..." his cynical rant ended as he watched the group's redneck approach the open trunk of a close-by car and ransack it with ease. He gave a low sigh. "Okay, that was dumb..."

Jackie looked at Donna, who looked at Eric, who looked back at her. Their confusion was growing.

"Can find a radiator hose here..." exhaled Shane, looking around.

"Whole buncha stuff we can find," corrected the redneck as he continued to look through the foreign luggage. He reached for a pink backpack but discarded it rapidly, uninterested.

"Siphon more fuel from these cars, for a start" said the black man, getting the courage to move around the area a little more freely.

"Maybe some water?"

"Food?"

"This is a graveyard."

Rick's wife looked at them firmly, her voice tense.

Everybody else stopped to look at her for a second, letting their brains absorb her words. Some of them glanced around, doubtingly and ashamed. "I don't know how I feel about this..."

There was a pause, and the black man started to walk with more conviction to a near car, ignoring her thoughts.

"Alright, alright; here we go."

"C'mon y'all," complied Shane, making his way through some garbage on the floor. "Just look around. Gather what ya can,"

The group took a second before dispersing to the sides, all with the new task of finding supplies. Something Jackie was grateful for: She hadn't eaten anything since the day before, and that single meal had only consisted of three humid twix bars and a pair of half-rotten oranges Donna had found hanging from a tree. Of course, Jackie Burkhart, like any respectable lady, didn't steal, but if the situation required her to borrow a few animal crackers from a decaying body, there was no moral inconvenience she could think of that could stop her. Besides, her stomach felt like a hollow sort of cave. She had to do something about it.

The woman with blond hair and bags under her eyes had started moving to the car closest to them when Donna elbowed Jackie's side, her face holding an anxious smile.

"Time to make friends, huh?" she said. Jackie gulped.

"I don't know, Donna. Did you take a look at these people?"she asked, letting her tongue out of her mouth in a sign of distaste "They are so dirty, and scruffy, and... Oh, my god, do you think they have lice?"

Donna scowled at her. "Jackie, there are freakoids running around everywhere! Following the current trend is the _least _of priorities. And no! They don't have lice!"

"That's no excuse. Some of them already look like the freaks... I mean, look at that!" she pointed to the blond, baggy-eyed woman "If that's not the style of death, then I don't know what it is. She could blend in perfectly with the Neimoidians,"

Donna shrugged. "Maybe that's part of their plan?"

"Well, I'm not following that."

Donna rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Just be nice to people, okay? Do not get us kicked out," she warned.

"Yeah, yeah..."

The blonde looked around for Eric, who was having some trouble opening the side door of a red Ford located three cars away, and turned back to Jackie: "That's my cue," she said, pointing with her head at the struggling Eric. She waved her hand goodbye, and walked calmly to her boyfriend's side.

Jackie watched Donna leave, and pouted. Maybe having screamed at Shane that morning hadn't been such a great idea. Sure, they saved them from those freaks, but looking at the group in that moment, with their depressed, taciturn faces and their rough movements... She couldn't help but wonder if they really were as strong as she previously thought.

A crow started singing somewhere in the woods that contoured the highway.

The environment had somewhat relaxed now that everyone had something to do.

She walked slowly next to the RV, putting more focus into getting rid of the bugs around her than into finding a car where to snatch supplies. By the time she made it to the front of the vehicle, the Asian guy with the cap had trotted past her twice; the second and returning time with the addition of two colorful screwdrivers held tightly in his hand. He stopped a few steps away from her, facing the worried old man named Dale.

"Which one?" he asked, a little out of breath.

"The flat head."

Both Dale and the Asian guy jumped back when they heard her voice, as if she had emerged out of nowhere. She rose her eyebrows, undermining their reactions.

"It's the radiator, right?" she questioned, trying to remember the man's past words while making herself some space to see the origin of the vapor. Her mouth twisted at the sight. "The radiator's hose clamp is always a flat head."

A slow smile appeared on Dale's face.

"Well, look at that," he said, gladly surprised. "The pretty lady here knows about radiators,"

Jackie smiled with false modesty and batted her eyelashes, as if that gave another justification for the 'pretty' remark. The Asian guy seemed disappointed.

"And you are...?" started the boy.

"Jackie," she replied without paying him too much attention, and opened her hand in request for the screwdriver. The Asian guy gave it to her because of the firm order rather than because he thought it was a good idea. Next, she took a piece of cloth from between Dale's fingers, positioned it against the hose, feeling through it the extreme heat of the apparatus, and put the screwdriver in place. "Move back. It's gonna get hotter,"

She twisted the flat head, and a bigger cloud of vapor was released from inside the motor. She moved away, waiting for the vapor to escape completely, and wiped her sweaty face with the back of her hand. " _This_ is the _worst_ radiator hose I've ever seen." She pointed at the multiple layers of duck tape. "You better let it cool down before trying anything,"

Dale laughed as she returned the little dishcloth. "It had a hard life,"

"How? How did you know that?" The Asian guy rubbed the back of his head, his tone a mixture of astonishment and objection.

"Know what?"

"About the flat head, and the radiator hose, and all that?"

Jackie shrugged.

"You pick a few thing when holding a flashlight for Mr. Forman," she said as if that explained everything, leaving the Asian guy with an even more confused look. Dale patted the boy's back.

"I think you and Jackie should go find a replacement. Maybe you can teach Glenn something,"

The Asian and the girl looked at each other with weariness.

The crow started singing again.

He sighed.

"Great..."

OOOO

"We need some antifreeze first, and a hose that matches the leaky one, and some water for the mixture. Oh, and a bucket! Unless we can find more coolant,"

They crossed the median onto the opposite lane, where Shane stood around inspecting the area with his rifle ready. Glenn walked up to a white semi, propped its hood open, and examined it.

"Is it good?" he asked, making his companion some space. Jackie looked at the hose and pinched it gently, checking for holes and soft spots.

"Yep. Looks goods. And it matches," she confirmed. Glenn dove into it with the yellow screwdriver. "Do you think it'll have some antifreeze?"

"Should have..."

Jackie moved next to the side window, stood on the tips of her toes, and checked the vehicle's interior, covering the sun's light with her hand to prevent reflections. There were no bodies inside. There seemed to be no blood. _Yay_. She exhaled some air in relief and helped herself into it, opening the door with difficulty because of its height. The truck was not spacious, but it was terribly empty. Whatever had happen in that place, the owner had managed to leave his 18-wheeler behind fully loaded. Seeing nothing in the front area, she searched under the seats, even though her eyes were not so focused in finding the antifreeze, but in getting some food. She found neither; just a toothbrush laying on the floor and a green, wrinkly T-shirt. She went back out, empty-handed, just in time to hear Glenn laughing in delight and to see Shane showering under an open water container.

"Hey! Save me some!" yelled Glenn, smashing the screwdriver against the truck's hose clamp with a new found excitement. Shane faced them both with a wide smile.

"It's like being baptized, man!"

"Is _all_ that water?"

"Hell yeah, it is! Come here Jackie, help me carry these back,"

"Uh, do I look like I can carry that? Uh-uh. Let Glenn do it,"

"I'm working on this,"

"Yeah, and I can do that too. Probably better. You're going to mess up the clamp if you keep wiggling your hand like that,"

"Look, if your really wan–"

"C'mon, Jackie. Just hold this there. Yeah. See? You got it,"

"No! _Ow_! Forget it. I can't do this."

"Sure ya can. Now go, go,"

"But my – "

"The more you complain, the longer you hold it,"

"Urgh! Where's Donna when I need her!"

"...Just take it to the RV, will ya?"

She groaned in response and turned around, the weight of the container pulling her shoulders down in a way they weren't supposed to. How in the world could they expect her to carry that bottle all the way through the median? Gee. She moved two steps towards the grassy part in between the roadways with shaky arms, the sun meddling into her eyes and ruining her vision. Her fingers struggled to get a steady grasp on the container, specially since Shane's watery hands had made its surface more slippery than necessary. That day was just getting better and better.

She turned ninety degrees, so that the sun would just hit her side, and looked up.

It was then that she saw her. A freak girl walking in the distance, her patchy red hair hanging inertly from her head. Her arms fell on her sides with no intent, her legs moving at an unsynchronized rhythm. Next to her, a freako salesman with a horrible blue tie. And next to him, another one, with a mailbag hanging from his shoulder. Behind him, one with a baseball cap. And then another one. And another one...

And another one.

And another.

And then four others. Ten others.

_What?_

Twelve.

Twenty-nine.

Thirty-six.

_Eighty_ others.

She only realized she had dropped the container to the ground when she felt the water splashing against her legs. Her knees felt like jello.

"Oh my god..." A shock of panic shook her entire body, a cold sensation going up her spine. Suddenly, there was nothing else in her sight. Just her tunneled vision focusing on them.

Her lips were trebling.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god... DONNAAA!" Her feet seemed stuck to the ground, incapable of retreating. There were too many, walking slowly to her, their noses leading them to her exact location. She could already imagine their bonny hands pulling her to them, their loose and dry tongues getting closer to her face. "DONNA, PLEASE! DONNAA! DONN–!"

She received the ground's calcining pavement with her arms wide open, the man on her back having tackled her down with a single motion. He was heavy, and she had bitten her tongue with the impact.

"Shut the fuck up!" Shane's whisper was a threat. "Just fucking shut the fuck up."

He grabbed her forcibly by the wrist and they stumbled, crouching, to the semi, the freaks' painful and suffocating moans becoming stronger with every of their steps. She was brought down to the floor's level by his hand and then pushed under the truck's long cargo compartment, the man following right after. He faced her, his black eyes set on hers.

"Now you look at me, okay? It's just me and you here, you hear me? The walkers will go right by,"

She noticed one of his hands covering her mouth, where the salty and metallic taste of the blood gushing from her tongue filled every corner.

Jackie gave out a soft cry. Shane clicked his tongue, muting her.

"Look at me. Alright? Just look at me... Look at me! We're gonna be just fine."

She closed her eyes in agony and took a deep breath. She could hear them, every groan and whine they gave. They were getting louder. And then there were steps. People walking right next to her ear. The uncoordinated march of the freaks passing beside her body, stepping on the yellow corner of her dress, with the smell of their decomposing bodies leaving a track of putrid gas. Shane pushed her body against his so that they were laying exactly under the trailer. One noise, and they'd be found. One noise, and they'd be dead.

Her eyes shot open when her stomach began growling in pain. Shane mouthed a desperate "_Fuck._"

It was hell.

It really was.

* * *

_Alright, second chapter! It has a bit more information than the first one, and it might seem a bit slower, but it is completely necessary. Besides, I'm discovering that it's fun changing certain parts of the story while maintaining others... It makes me think of all the possibilities! :O Of course, with three more people added to the group, this story will increasingly become less similar to the actual TWD storyline... But I have so many ideas I want to try, I'm glad I get to change things a bit! :)_

_And yes! The story will be a Jackie/Daryl, even though it may not seem like it for now... I just don't want to rush anything.  
_

_Also, thank you SuperNeos2 and ThePowerPanda for your support! I really appreciate it! :)_


	3. An Abnormal Number of Disastrous Events

_An Abnormal Number of Disastrous Events _

He heard it. It was there. But he could not believe it.

At first he had confused it with the walker's dry gasps, but now that the majority of them had passed, the sound was crystal clear.

He had no doubts.

_That_ was a stomach growling.

A _stomach, _for God's sake...

With his face still pressed against the raspy and hot surface of the pavement, Glenn squinted his eyes looking for the source of the noise. But it was obvious. As much as he wanted to be wrong, that kind of sound only came from a functioning human stomach, and even though the food had been specially crappy lately, no one in the group was hungry. That left just another logical explanation then. And the other two were too far for him to hear... It had to be. Jackie.

His vision moved around the walkers' feet, around their bloody sneakers, their broken heels and their twisted ankles, examining the bottom of the vehicles. He found her under the white semi they had been working on, her tiny frame pressed against Shane in a way that impeded him from seeing her face. But he could see Shane's eyes: a pair of desperate, scrambling pupils that followed the walkers' movements with too much fear and anxiety.

Glenn swallowed hard. If he could hear the constant vacillating rumble of Jackie's stomach, the walkers would not take long to notice it too.

He slid a little closer to the side of the car he was under and carefully peeked into the direction the walkers came from. The movement was quick and he only managed to see blurs, but it was enough for him to tell that there were just a few of them left. If Jackie's stomach cooperated, maybe, _maybe,_ she and Shane could stay hidden for a little longer.

Just a few seconds of silence. That was all they needed.

A walker passed right next to his nose, and Glenn found himself resisting the urge to jump back. He swore in his mind and pressed his jaws together making sure not a sound came out of his throat. Damn, was he close. At least close enough for him to perceive the grassy but acrid smell of the walker's pink and gray running shoes, which were slightly concealed under her dirty and tore black yoga pants...

Ah, yoga pants...

To think that a few weeks ago, he would have probably been checking her out as she ran under the shadows of the trees, the smell of pizza and the sound of his red moped all around him while turning into Piedmont Ave during a calm summer's day... He had seen so many of them, with their perfect manicures and their shinny hair, wearing matching sports bras and heavy eyeliner. And now they were just _walkers_, nothing but discomposing structures, mindlessly walking around, with the bodies they had so cautiously perfected peeling away from their rotten bones... The thought immediately made him nauseous.

As the walker slowly made her way north, he receded a bit more into the car's cooler shade. Their moans were becoming softer now, their steps lazily fading away somewhere up the road. Good.

_Just a few more._

_No more than a pair..._

_A few seconds more and they could all make it._

_A few seconds more and–_

BRUAAGHH!

No...

Suddenly everything was moving too fast: There was a low grunt, five dead feet moving in Jackie's direction, the thump of a kick, a pressed scream, his legs moving, two predator eyes, blood all over the yellow screwdriver, _Shitshitshitshitshit_, his heart pounding, a punch, heaviness, a putrid hug, a hungry moan. And then a loud shriek from the other side of the road, the eyes looking away, Shane running in his direction, the sound of wood cracking, a walker laying motionless on top of him with the butt of the rifle piercing its brain, the walker being pushed away, and finally, as if he had awaken from a dream, Jackie's big teary eyes aligned with his.

"Glenn, you... you... Oh! My hero!" She planted a heavy kiss on his forehead and grabbed the sides of his face with excitement. "I could not believe it! You were _thooo_ brave! Like a knight without a thtallion and a flat head for a thword! Oh! And you _thaved_ me! _You_ thaved _me_! I owe you _thoooo_ big!"

Glenn closed his eyes, the back of his head feeling like it had been smashed against a concrete wall.

Or a street...

Jeez.

"Wha– What happened?" he managed to say as he used his elbows to push himself up with Jackie still on top, a confused frown on his face "...And what happened to your S's?"

"What happened? You_ thaved_ m–!"

"I think he got that part," Shane intervened, kneeling down next to him. He shook the sweat away from his face and chuckled. "Did ya get a concussion or somethin'? You saved our asses, man. Took down two walkers with the screwdriver. I finished off the third one," he pointed at the walker with the pink and gray running shoes, chunks of her head splattered all over their surroundings. Glenn gave a slow sigh when his eyes noticed her matching sports bra. "That one was a close one though. Woulda eaten you if it hadn't gotten distracted... And Jackie just bit her tongue."

Jackie pouted. "It hurth th'o much! Thith ith all your fault, Th'chane. What am I gonna do if it get'th thwollen?"

Shane snorted, bothered by Jackie's lack of gratitude, but sighed in resignation after giving it a second thought.

"Fine. I'm sorry. But don't cha come to me when a bunch of walkers start chasin' after you again, we clear?" he warned.

She offered him an offended look in response, stood up, and turned her face away from him. Shane promptly ignored her and stretched his arm, helping Glenn get up on his feet again.

Once standing, Glenn slowly rubbed the back of his head, his fingers exploring the place that caused him so much pain. He wiped one of his hands on the side of his jeans, since they were dripping walker blood from the recent killing, and had started to clean the few pieces of dead flesh that were stuck onto his shirt when a loud shout from behind startled them all:

"JACKIE!"

"Ah! Donna!"

Jackie was almost knocked out of her shoes by her friend's desperate hug before she could make one full step forward. Donna looked relieved as she squished the brunette's head around her arms.

"You almost gave me the biggest heart attack of my life, you moron!" Donna momentarily stopped the hug -letting Jackie breath a little,- checked the shorter girl's body for any wounds or bites, and then scowled at her. "Don't scream my name like you are being eaten alive and then look like you just got out of a freaking spa!"

"Donna, what are you talking about? I'm hurt! Look at thith!" Jackie rolled her bloody tongue out "And if it hadn't been for Glenn'th totally unexpected heroithm I would be freako food right now! You are lucky to th'ee me alive,"

"I am, aren't I..." Donna rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm glad you are well."

"Is evertrhin' alright on the other side?" asked Shane, who, as his tone demonstrated, seemed to treat the blond girl with more respect than her short friend.

Donna turned her eyes to him with a worried frown, bit her bottom lip and looked down. Nobody needed to be a psychologist to know that meant no good news.

"Sophia..." she murmured, slowly stroking her arm.

Shit.

What happened next was completely in the spur of the moment.

Before he could get any more details from Donna, Glenn was already sprinting through the median and going around the cars looking for the rest of the group, the sun hitting his face, his hat blown somewhere far. He hadn't realized it before, but it made so much sense. That shriek that had saved his life probably had had a reason behind it. Sophia had been found. That had to be it. Oh shit. Was she dead? Or a walker? Or alive? He had to know. He had to know now, and then help her, and do something about it, and kill every single walker around her, and, and... anything, it didn't matter. He just had to find her. Now.

_Shit!_

He hit the side of a silver convertible with too much energy and spun to the side of the road, smashing his left shoulder against the ground.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

For some reason, as he laid there, his blood-covered hand pressing the place he had just injured, he felt _guilty_. But why, he wasn't sure. He knew he could have not helped Sophia even if he had wanted to, that there had been no possible way for him to even know she was in danger before she screamed, but her cry had saved his fucking life. As if by fucking destiny. She had saved him. And Jesus, he was starting to sound like freaking Jackie, but he had to do something. He had to return the favor. He had to save her too.

He stood up, stumbling against a red truck and taking clumsy steps, and ran more until his ears heard Carol's hushed cries of desperation ("My baby! My _baby_!") as well as Lori calling his name and saying something in a distorted and distant voice, like they were all under water, where he couldn't really tell what it was that she meant.

Her words sounded weird. As if she was speaking in another language...

As if it wasn't Korean...

He shut his eyes with anger.

_English dumbass_, he told himself. _English!_ _She is speaking in English_.

But by the time he finally got it, her "Glenn? What are you doing? Your hand's... GLENN?" it was too late for him to stop. He jumped the guardrail like he was on amphetamines and continued his run down the ditch, urgently clinging with his hands to any tree he could find for balance. Everything around him seemed unstable and moving, but he was going too fast to care. He had to find her.

"So–!" He didn't even had the strength to shout her name, instead, his call sounded more like a violent choking sound. He leaned against a tree, unable to stop his legs from shaking, sweat cascading from his forehead. "Sophiaa! Sophi–!"

He collapsed on the ground, his breathing uncontrollably rising his chest like not enough air was reaching, like he was an angry bull or something. What the fuck was going on? Next thing he knew he was being lifted and then carried by two men, his arms hanging around their shoulders and his feet barely scraping the ground's dirt. The world was spiraling around him, the shapes of the trees melding and combining with the ground and the sky, and he could feel the density of his stomach and the effort it took for it not to puke everything out. His mind felt as if it was clogged with ice, or like there was a cannon constantly detonating inside it. He couldn't have moved a muscle even if his life depended on it.

The two men were talking to him, but their voices were slow to reach his brain, and even when they did, they were unintelligible. There was a thick accent in one, a worried tone in the other.

_Concentrate_. The task seemed to drain all his forces. _Concentrate_.

"-re we go. Glenn, right? We gotta take you back, man. You don't look well at all,"

"He's got a concusshun, all right."

"Darn... Is he gonna be okay?"

"Dunno. Jus' keep yer eyes open, chinaman. Sh'dn't take enny chances with this,"

"We're almost there, buddy."

They were.

Soon enough he could hear more voices around him, closing in and then going away, the tips of his shoes brushing against the firmer pavement underneath. He was thrown onto a soft surface, his body sinking in it, and had a wet t-shirt placed right under his hairline. His body was limp and his head felt empty of thoughts. The only thing that he could perceive was all the people frantically moving and speaking around him.

"Can someone do something about this walker? I can't move with it around."

"Here, Andrea, let me wipe the blood. Do you want some water?"

"Daryl, help me move 'im,"

"Thanks, I'm fine..."

"Th' fuckin' bastard."

"Oh, god, what _thould_ we do?"

"...It's gonna be fine, Carol. Rick's gonna find her and bring her back safely, okay? Please don't worry, honey."

"Well, that looks bad... Clean it and wrap it, T-Dog. There's some soap there. That should help,"

"He'll get better, Jackie."

"My little girl!"

"No, wait. Do it like _this_... Trust me, man. My mom's a nurse. I know the basics,"

"...This fucking sucks,"

Their words blended together a bit more before the lights started to look brighter and the shadows darker. Glenn struggled to maintain his eyes open for a little longer.

But in the end, somehow, everything still managed to look black.

OOO

"Ah! You're awake."

There was some rumbling to his side. A chair moving. "Dale, he woke up!"

Glenn looked up, his vision idly focusing on the beige ceiling of the RV. The light of the room was faint and full of orange hues, meaning that the sun was on the horizon, but he was unable to tell whether it was dusk or dawn. He was laying on Dale's bed, its cottony cushions and mattress holding his body in a fixed position. The bed was comfortable, but he couldn't seem to adjust himself to it.

He gave a low groan and stretched his legs with difficulty, starting to realize how much his body hurt, his head, his extremities, his back, and shoulder, and torso. Everything was sore.

He closed his eyes in pain, and when he opened them again Donna had leaned into his path of vision, a warm smile on her face, her blond hair shining reddish because of the sun's position.

"Hey, there. How are you feeling?"

He sighed, exhausted. "Like crap,"

"Well, that's understandable." Her smile became wider. "Are you hungry? Shane made some chicken-noodle soup for Jackie a few hours ago. He was practically begging her to eat something... I can re-heat some if you want."

"Nah, I'm okay." He moved a little, shuffling the bed sheets around him, and slowly pushed his eyebrows together. "How's Sophia?"

Donna looked down, her lips becoming a thin line.

"She's still lost in the woods... Rick and Daryl were trying to track her but it's too dark now." She sighed, worried, but quickly added: "She's alive, though. She must be... We'll keep looking tomorrow."

So there were no signs of her...

Before he could be overtaken by a wave of depression, he heard a pair of steps entering the room and walking calmly to his bed.

"Sorry that took a while, I was looking for the Tylenol," Dale passed a little white container to Donna before she left for the kitchen, and then turned his head down, facing Glenn with a spark in his eyes. "Welcome back. Can you tell me you name?"

Glenn's fatigued expression changed to a perplexed one in a matter of a second.

"..._What_?"

"What's your name?" Dale's words were pronounced slowly and accurately. Glenn opened his mouth in confusion.

"Um...Glenn?"

"Do you know where you are?"

"Your bed, Dale... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep here. I just-"

The old man laughed softly and sat on the mattress. "It's fine, Glenn. I was checking your brain, that's all. You seem to be doing well."

"...Oh,"

"Here's some water for the Tylenol," Donna informed as she re-entered the room, passed him a full glass of warm water, and handed him two pills. He moved his head upward and swallowed them in one gulp. Hopefully they could ease the pain. "Are you tired?"

"More than ever..."

He gave back the empty glass to Donna and exhaled some air. "But I'll get better. I wanna go search for Sophia tomorrow."

His words made Donna and Dale grimace and look at each other, trying to figure out how to respond to his resolution. The light had almost entirely faded now, the sun dimly illuminating the tiny room with its last rays, and it formed deep shadows on their faces.

Finally, Dale turned to him. "Just rest for now, okay? We'll see how you are feeling tomorrow."

"Yep. We'll keep checking on you. So if you need anything, tell us."

Glenn nodded against the pillow. "Alright. Thanks,"

Dale stood up, ready to leave, and Donna grinned.

"Just make sure you get better, okay? And if you see Jackie, please fake you're sleeping. She's gonna go nuts if she sees her tragic hero awake,"

He formed a light smile. "Will do,"

They smiled at him one last time, exited the room and closed the door behind them, leaving him alone with the twilight's glow and the noises of the group still working outside.

More sooner than later, he was asleep again.

OOO

His body was still a little shaky, but good enough to move without falling over and to eat with no need to vomit. His head felt just like always but with a few minor headaches sporadically coming and going, and even though he had discovered a web-shaped, black bruise covering his whole shoulder and part of his arm when he had changed his shirt that morning, he could still say his physical condition was relatively decent. Even Dale had asserted that he seemed good to go after he had asked him another series of questions, which were easily answered.

Of course, Dale had recommended him to rest for a few more days, just to be safe, hoping that he would reconsider his decision to go looking for Sophia in his state. But Glenn firmly passed the offer. After all, he was mortified by his behavior from the day before.

Concussion or not, running after Sophia by himself like a maniac had not only put himself in danger, but everybody else as well. If he was well enough to prove that he could still be an asset for the group and that he could actually help without putting everything at risk, he had to do it. Besides, even though his emotional reaction yesterday had been exaggerated, and why not, obnoxious, there was still a lingering of guilt in his thoughts, and his willingness to help Sophia was greater or equal to everyone else's...

Hell, he was as good as ever.

This time he could actually do something useful.

When he finally got out of the RV around noon, he was received with glad but tired looks. His appearance came as a relief, but there were still more things to worry about. The main one obviously being Sophia.

"Glenn!" Andrea gave him a quick pat on the shoulder as soon as he reached the ground, for what he flinched in pain. "Nice to see you conscious,"

"Yeah. Thanks,"

He got closer to where the rest of the group stood taking care of the last preparations before entering the woods, Shane reloading his gun, Daryl cleaning an arrow, Lori packing some water in her bag for the trip that awaited them.

It wasn't until Rick turned to him, as Glenn checked with amazement the great number of supplies they had managed to collect in just one day, that someone finally seemed to fully notice him.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," he said with kind of a forced smile while buttoning up his shirt. He looked more beat and overwhelmed than anybody else. Glenn just nodded. "Think you can help search?"

"Yeah. Dale said I'm good to go,"

"That's good, that's good,"

Rick rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, as if he was trying to remember something, and then put his brown hat on. "Eric's gonna be monitoring ya today, then. He says he know a bit about concussions,"

"Well, everyone who spends some time with Kelso can't help but learn about them..."

He heard Eric's voice before he could see him, his body leaning down as he added some strange items into his backpack. It took Glenn a while to recognize him, probably because it was the first time he had seen him not covered in mud. Eric looked strangely normal without all that brownish liquid concealing his skin.

Behind him, a happy Donna and an euphoric Jackie trotted to where they stood talking.

"GLENN! You are alive!" Jackie gave little jumps in place while rapidly clapping her hands, her hair bouncing up and down, before hugging him so hard that she seemed to be trying to combine his arms and torso together.

Donna smirked.

"So you are joining us, huh?" she asked.

"That's the plan," Eric responded for him, placing a comforting hand on the Asian's shoulder, which made him wince once again. The boy smelled heavily of bug-repellant and sun-block. "Are we ready?"

"Almost," replied Rick. He rolled a stash of sharp, unused blades of all styles and sizes on the top of a car's hood. They flickered strongly under the noon's light, and Glenn got a little giddy. The idea of using one of them seemed pretty entertaining.

"Here," Rick handed him a small machete and turned around to face the rest. "Everybody takes a weapon."

Andrea snickered at the sight.

"This aren't the kinds of weapons we need," she objected. "What about the guns?"

Farther away, from the shadow of the RV, Shane exhaled an exhausted puff of air.

"We've been over that," he said, trying to maintain his patience. "Dale, Rick and I are carrying. Can't have people poppin' on rounds every time a tree rustles,"

"It's not the trees I'm worried about..."

Shane noticed the sarcasm and looked at her in annoyance. "Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, herd happens to be passin' by. See, that is game over for all of us, so ya need to get over it,"

Andrea answered with a scowl and took a blade, sliding it down with irritation under her belt.

He had clearly missed a few things thanks to the concussion...

"Th' idea is to take the creek up 'bout five miles, turn aroun', an' come back on th' other side." Daryl proceeded to explain the plan of action. "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only lan'mark,"

"Stay quite, stay sharp, keep some space between you, and always stay in sight of each other," reminded them Rick.

They all seemed about ready to start the search.

He positioned his little machete in his pocket, and was looking for a bottle of water near the supplies pyramid when he overheard Donna's frustrated voice. He turned his head to see the newbie trio creating a little circle a little farther away from the rest.

"Jackie, no. I'll repeat exactly what I said yesterday: You are wearing wedges. Do I need to elaborate my point?"

"Oh, come on, Donna! Theth' are the comfieth't th'choes I've got. I wanna help too."

"Whoa. Wait a second. _You_ want to help someone in _actual_ danger?" Eric gasped, both hands over his mouth. "Who are you and what have you done to the real Devil!"

Jackie glared at him.

"Thurprith'ing ath it ith for_ you_, Eric, I am a good perthon."

"You know what? You are right, Jackie. That _IS _extremely surprising."

"Eric, cut it out! Look, Jackie, Dale_ just_ said the radiator's hose is still not repaired. You can help him with that, right?"

"Dale thaid that? But I juth'... That'th not–"

_Yes!_

Glenn finally found a water bottle that had managed to stay under the boiling point and stuffed it into his other pocket, happy about his finding. He probably should have gotten a backpack, but he couldn't think of anything else that was of extreme necessity... And yet he sighed at the sight of his extraordinarily stuffed pockets, kind of ashamed of himself. Granted, he did need a backpack, he was just being lazy, and he probably looked pretty ridiculous with the bottle and the machete misshaping his legs in every direction, but hey, he was mentally impaired at the moment... No one was going to judge...

From somewhere in the background, he heard Carl trying to convince his parents of something: "I'm going with you. You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible...?"

Closely followed by Jackie's: "Great. Even Carl ith going now!"

"Oh, yeah, but look at that; he's wearing real shoes, isn't he? Hmm, how _incredibly appropriate_..."

"Eric!"

Glenn smiled. As weird as those three were, they all seemed pretty nice and spirited. He was surprised they could still find some joy under the circumstances...

He decided that some bug repellent would not be a bad idea and looked around the pile until he found some. He spayed it on himself, its strong smell covering him up, and coughed a little.

"No, Dale. You are doing it for you. You need to stop."

Glenn stopped the spraying and turned around, stunned by Andrea's aggressive tone.

She and Dale were talking next to the RV, her face stiff.

"What do you think it's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?"

"I know you are angry at me..." Dale answered keeping his voice leveled. "Let me just clear that if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."

Andrea didn't even blink.

"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay."

"You chose suicide!"

He heard someone gasp like they had revealed the main twist of a HBO drama. Probably Jackie.

Glenn quickly glanced around, just to notice that everyone was solely paying attention to the conversation.

"So what's the problem to you? You barely know me," Andrea continued.

"I know that Amy's death devastated you..."

"Don't bring Amy into this. This is not about her, it's abut us. And if I decided I had nothing else to live for, who the _hell_ are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that!" Her eyes became teary.

"I saved your life,"

"No, Dale! I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands, and that's the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? What? That I'd get some kind of epiphany on the greatness of life?"

Dale shook his head. "Maybe just a little gratitude?"

"_Gratitude_?" She looked away, as if that word had been the drop that spilled the glass. "I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks! That was _my_ choice. You took that away from me, Dale."

"But–"

"But you know better..." she hushed him, her voice full or rancor. "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless, horrific nightmare we live every day. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale. And you expect _gratitude_?"

Dale parted his lips, but took a while to respond. When he did, his voice sounded grave and hurt,

"I...I don't know what to say."

"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your wife, and I'm sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say..."

Andrea left his side with a firm pace and walked directly to the forest, the rest of the group slowly following after her with no conviction.

Eric looked at Glenn with an uncomfortable smile, shrugged, and then waited for him to join his side before they started their way to the woods.

The last thing he heard before entering the dense vegetation was Jackie's "C'mon, Dale. Let'th fix that radiator again..."

OOO

The air in the woods was sticky and mosquito infested, but the hike was not all that bad. Except for his chronic headache, of course.

The journey had been silent and gloomy for most of the time, at least until Carl had started walking next to them since, as he claimed, Shane was mad at him. From then on, Eric had made it his personal mission to explain in luxury of details the whole Star Wars saga to the kid, from the beginnings of the poor but hopeful Anakin Skywalker to how his actions would affect the future of the whole galaxy, and mostly, his son.

As they walked along the trees, Glenn couldn't hide his happiness. He had seen Star Wars years ago, and even though he considered himself a fan, Eric's strong passion for the topic was inexplicable. He knew just about every line and the names of all creatures, planets, and characters. To make it even weirder, his excitement was such that it grew extremely contagious, even making the worried Lori and Carol almost as into the story as Carl, who constantly urged Eric to tell it faster.

Although Shane and Rick seemed mostly bothered by it, the tale made their quest a little less disheartening, and for that, they were all thankful.

"And then what? What happened next?" Carl's eyes flickered with enthusiasm.

Donna gave the kid a dazzled look as she evaded a fallen tree trunk.

"Eric, this worries me..." she said. "You are turning him into... into... Oh god, into _you!_"

"The boy knows what's good, Donna," Eric answered with a smug smile, and continued. "Anyway, Luke introduces himself to C-3PO, a protocol cyborg designed to assist humans in intergalactic communication, and his companion, the small and useful R2-D2. Threepio calls him 'Sir Luke' at first, because of his usual formality (you will find why later on,) but Luke tells him right away that he's just Luke, and when he starts to inspect little Artoo he– _OW!_"

Glenn observed, almost in slow motion, how Eric walked directly into Andrea, his full body and face hitting against her back. They both stumbled forward, but managed to stay on their feet.

"Watch out," hissed the woman in a pissed-off tone. Eric separated so fast from her that he almost fell back, as if he though she was something terrifying and unwanted, like a poisonous snake, or herpes.

Evidently, her discussion with Dale had earned her some stigmas.

"Uh, I- I'm so sorry, ma'am, uh, Andrea. I didn't see you stopping and–" he was hushed by the demonic glare Shane sent him. Eric gulped, flustered. "What? Is something going on?"

"Eric, look in front," Donna reprimanded him, amazed by her boyfriend's lack of attention.

Glenn and Eric looked up at the same time, their confused expressions an exact replica of the other.

There, slightly covered by the flora, a white and green tent stood firmly on the ground, a few chairs and pots spread around it. It seemed abandoned, but that didn't mean much.

Glenn's soul became a little more hopeful. Sophia could be there.

Apparently, Shane was thinking the same:

"She can be in there..." the man pointed out.

"Could be a whole buncha things in ther'," Daryl retaliated. He took a sharp knife from under his belt and approached the tent carefully, squatting until he was close enough to press his ear against the green fabric. He checked around really quickly, making sure there was nothing behind the olive structure, and gave Rick a sign. In response, Rick called for Carol with a shake of his head, who walked to his side with terrified short steps.

Rick whispered something to her, and Carol nodded.

"Sophia... Sweetie, are you in there?" She started, almost sobbing. "Sophia, it's mommy..."

Nothing.

Carol hesitated as her tone grew more desperate. "Sophia. We are all here, baby. It's mommy!"

Glenn felt his throat becoming dry.

There were no signs of anything.

Seeing no reactions, Daryl entered the tent and came out of it relatively quickly, his dirty skin and small eyes concealing all emotions as he walked to their side again.

"Ain't her," he said, brushing away his sweat and placing his knife back in place in a rough manner. "Jus' some guy. Did whut Jenner said, opted out... Ain't that whut he called it?"

But he got no answer.

Everybody was to mesmerized by the sudden sound of church bells to respond.

They sounded beautiful, faint but clear, and completely out of place.

Rick started running before anyone else could figure out exactly what to do, but they all followed rapidly, all their legs rushing to the same place like they were part of a race.

The feeling of his legs moving so fast reminded Glenn of the day before, and he couldn't help but to get dizzy and wobbly. Luckily, Rick decreased their velocity by the sixth bell sound, and so did the rest. They were all panting.

"What direction?" asked Shane agitatedly.

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure..." Rick continued trotting in the front of the group, unable to stop.

Eric gave Glenn a quizzical look as they still moved along the trees, probably wondering about his state, but Glenn just looked away, evading his pupils. He didn't want him to see the paleness of his face or the effort it took for his eyes to focus. Not now that they had a lead.

"Dang, it's hard to tell out here."

"If we hear them, maybe Sophia does too!" Carol's voice was full of faith.

"Someone's ringing those bells," he heard himself say, even though he was unaware of how he had even been able to talk. Eric probably took that as a positive sign since he finally moved his furtive eyes away from the side of his face.

"Maybe someone found her," Andrea guessed.

"She could be ringing them herself. Come on!"

Rick started sprinting again, and Glenn pushed himself to continue forward even though his whole body was starting to feel incredibly sore again. Maybe it was the heat, or the moving, or the time he had been standing, or that he had been bearing with his headaches for too long, but he could feel the concussion taking effect again.

But he was not going to show it. Not with those bells sounding throughout the woods. Not with Sophia still lost.

The line of trees abruptly ended and they found themselves running through a yellow plain covered with small gravestones, a wooden tall building standing close to the road in front.

"That can't be it!" Donna's voice was so strong that it was able to temporarily break the wooziness of his mind, the pounding sound of all their steps tampering with his hearing. "It has no bells!"

They finally made it to the entrance of the baptist church, and Glenn immediately leaned against the tree outside as Rick, Daryl and Shane walked up the stairs and opened the two main doors, the rest of the group looking like spectators while waiting on the the steps.

He could feel the cold sweat covering his face, the shapes and silhouettes becoming less and less defined. He was feeling it, alright. The same thing he did yesterday.

He sat down on the ground's dirt and felt the accelerated beats of his heart consuming his entire body.

Everything was turning black again.

And it would have, if it hadn't been for half of Eric's Spider-Man water bottle emptying on top of his face.

Glenn's vision tunneled back to reality, hot water dripping from his hair and nose.

He saw the boy standing in front of him, his shape hunched down with his hands on his knees.

"Uff... I- I knew it, man..." Eric crumpled next to him, violently gasping for air. "You're feeling- feeling sick... right?... Uff! I don't remember the last- last time I ran this much!"

For some time, Eric's rapid breathing and the sounds of the killing happening inside the church were the only sounds he could tell apart.

It took Glenn a while to find enough energy to speak.

"Goddammit..." he eventually murmured, fatigued. He let his head fall back, placing it against the tree's trunk.

They heard Daryl screaming Sophia's name from inside the church. Then the group running out. Then the sound of the bells ceasing.

The quietness was demoralizing.

Eric exhaled a long sigh.

"Guess... they didn't, uh, find her..." He opened his red and blue bottle, took a gulp of water and handed it to Glenn. "... Ahh... If you are not feeling well, you... You should probably go back, man..."

Glenn took the bottle between his hands and chugged what was left inside. He momentarily closed his eyes.

"I just wanted to find Sophia..."

Eric gave him a saddened side-look, a little more composed now.

"Look, Glenn, man, I now you wanna stay, but I really, _really_, think you should go back. Me and Donna can take you. It's not safe for you,"

Glenn saw the group entering back into the chapel from the corner of his eye.

Sophia was still nowhere to be found.

"But..." He had no good comeback, no good reason, so he just threw the empty bottle back at Eric and stood up, trying his best to look fine even though he couldn't quite feel his legs. Eric opened his mouth, horrified.

"Woah, whoa! Glenn, no, please don't do this to me, man. Don't die. Just lay down here. _Reaaally_ slowly. And don't die," he implored, struggling to stand up. Glenn frowned.

"I'm alright, really,"

"No, you are not."

"But I will be any second now."

"...Uh, well. Yes. Probably; I mean, these things do come and go, you kno–" Eric stopped himself, realizing he was not really helping his point. He raised his index finger like he was about to disclose something that would back him up, but then dropped it. Finally, he scratched the back of his head and folded his arms. "Okay... Okay. You swear you are fine, right?..."

"I swear,"

"And that you are not gonna die any time soon..."

"Yes."

"And that you–"

"I promise I'll be fine."

Eric contorted his face, as if in deep thought. Then, he relaxed it.

"Fine. You don't have to go back yet." He breathed out, reluctantly. "But only because you promised! Just... try not to run much, though. And always stay in my sight,"

Glenn shook his still wet hair side to side to get rid of the remaining water and smiled. He was feeling a bit better. "Dude, you're starting to sound like Lori,"

"No, you don't understand. I have reasons to be concerned. Donna and Jackie are gonna _kill me_ if something happens to you..." the boy lamented, slapping his forehead. "Donna because Jackie's gonna drive her crazy, and Jackie... I'm sure she's been looking for a excuse to kill me ever since we met. So you better keep your promise."

Glenn laughed softly as the rest of the group left the church and walked to them, their faces full of lament. Shane and Rick were quietly talking in the front of the pack, their eyes fixed on the ground.

"I cannot stop yet..." Rick stated just loud enough for Glenn to hear, his voice steady but soft. Shane grimaced.

"We've still have a lot of ground to cover, the whole other side of the creek. We have to search that on the way back,"

"Yes, but maybe she heard those church bells. She could be near by..."

"She could be a lot of–"

Rick stopped, letting the rest move past him, with Shane following soon after, their conversation becoming a whisper. Even from under his hat, his eyes concealed, Rick's desperation was clear. And Glenn could understand why.

It was getting late, and Sophia was still lost...

The chances in their favor were getting smaller with each second.

Glenn looked away into the woods, which now shone with a golden sparkle.

The sun was starting to go down.

Time was ticking away...

"You are splittin' us up," Daryl's voice brought him back to his senses, making him look at two cops firmly positioned in front of him with confusion. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Shane nodded. "We'll catch up to ya,"

"I wanna stay too!" Carl's voice appeared from nowhere with an unexpected amount of confidence. The whole group turned to look at the little boy, shocked. "I'm her friend."

Rick stared at him for a moment, unable to respond, his face full of doubt. Instead, it was Lori who finally gave him permission as she leaned down and placed her hands on his small shoulders.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Carl nodded and she smiled warmly at him, kissing his head. They hugged, and just when they were getting ready to part ways, Carl spoke again.

"But I want him to come too," the boy suddenly added, pointing at Eric as if that was a condition. Shane and Rick looked at each other, completely lost for words. Eric, on the other hand, looked like he was about to faint. "I wanna hear what happens to Luke,"

There was an intense moment of silence.

Everyone was in disbelief.

"He _IS_ turning into you!" cried Donna, putting into words what everyone else was thinking. Eric still looked like he was about to faint, but, this time, because of happiness.

"I– I'm_ so_ proud of you, Carl," he said, almost on the verge of tears. Yet he shook his head, trying to concentrate on other matters. "But I still need to look over Glenn..."

Glenn's eyes dilated. How had _he_ ended up in this mess?

"Dad, can we take them? They can help too."

"...Carl, I don't know if-"

"Please, dad? Please?"

Rick dropped his head, not able to resist his son's pleadings anymore. He rubbed his face, as if knowing he would regret his decision later, and groaned.

"Alright. They can come..."

"Whut? Ya're takin' _them_?" Daryl confronted him immediately, incredulous.

He had a point, Glenn thought. Out of the whole group, a kid, a nerd, and a guy suffering from a concussion did not seem like the best team to take into the forest at nightfall.

Rick nodded.

"We should be fine. We'll be back by the time y'all get to the highway, you can count on that," he said, looking at Lori straight in the eyes. She gestured a nod gravely.

Rick looked at Carl, at Eric, and then at him. Glenn managed a weak smile.

"Let's go," he ordered right after, starting to move to the east. Shane glowered, but followed him closely.

The other half of the group marched in the opposite direction, giving them comforting looks as their goodbye's.

"Mmm... So, where was I...?" Eric started.

"Luke was checking on Artoo,"

"Oh, yes! Well, it turns up that just at that moment they feel the spaceship shaking, as if it was colliding against something-"

"And what happened next?"

They walked through the graveyard with an agile pace, but gave themselves a second to stand in front of the trees that marked the edge of the forest, wondering what expected them.

Somewhere in there, as Glenn still anticipated, Sophia, and who knows what else, were waiting for them...

* * *

_Probably longest chapter to date! Haha. Congratulations if you read it all, and I'm sorry it was soo long! There is so much detail in this story that it's hard to fit it all in one chapter. I would divide them into more, but I've decided that I want to have a different pov for each chapter, and making many small chapters would probably end up messing me up..._

_Anyways, like always, thank you so much for your reviews! They make me so happy! :D So a super thank you to SuperNeos2 for reviewing again! And super thank you to Logan GC too! And of course, I'm also grateful for those who read even if they don't comment :)_

_Anyways, hopefully you liked this chapter :) The next one will bring some more surprises... ;)_


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